Podcast host Joe Rogan called out Oscar-winning actor Will Smith for slapping comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, calling Smith’s outburst a “foolish impulse.”
Actor and rapper Will Smith shocked the world when he walked on stage at the 2022 Oscars to slap Chris Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about actress Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock’s joke compared Jada’s look for the evening to that of fictional action heroine GI Jane — a comment Jada didn’t seem happy with, as she recently revealed she’s been struggling with hair loss.
The slap instantly went viral, prompting an investigation of Smith by the Academy. Smith has since publicly apologized for the incident.
Joe Rogan criticizes Will Smith’s “stupid” Oscar’s slap
Comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan spoke out on the viral debacle during a recent episode with mixed martial artist Josh Barnett, where he notably called the ordeal a “foolish impulse” on Smith’s part.
“I don’t think he was thinking that far ahead, at all,” Rogan said in response to Barnett. “I think he was being emotionally fragile. He acted on impulse. I think it’s a foolish impulse that you do when you know there’s no consequences.”
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“Chris Rock’s doing his f**king job,” he continued. “You don’t go and sit in the front row, you’re a star at the Oscars — there’s a professional comedian whose job is to roast people. That’s what he’s doing. And what he did was not even insulting. It was a mild joke.”
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Rogan is also under the impression that Smith won’t face legal consequences for slapping Rock on live television. The LAPD has confirmed that Rock is not pressing charges against Smith, but is willing to work with him, should he choose to do so in the future.
“I’m telling you, this is all rational thinking about an irrational act,” Rogan argued. “He was emotionally fragile and he acted on impulse in a staggeringly stupid way.”
Rogan isn’t the only comedian to have spoken out on the situation; Andrew Schulz also notably claimed that Chris Rock was “soft” to have not retaliated against Smith after being struck during the ceremony, although it seems things are settled between the two stars for now.